


We

by minT (justiceleague)



Category: Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other, Sharing a Bed, as slow burn as a shorter fic will allow, eventual smut probably, friendship to romance, i lied it's not slowburn at all, lots of feelings, maybe a touch of internalized homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-29 06:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16258856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justiceleague/pseuds/minT
Summary: Eddie is suffering. He hurts, he misses things. Things like kisses, comforting touches, and not living alone. So when Venom returns to him, he resolves to heal Eddie, whatever it takes.Will up the rating in later chapters.





	1. Loss

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if this doesn't feel too in character. I'm out of practice, and also I never read the comics so this is based entirely on the one viewing of the movie I got. Originally I wanted to just do monster porn, but I'm a sucker for feewings uwu and there isn't a lot of it for symbrock yet...so, hope you can enjoy. Let me know if you do! I'll feel more encouraged to continue.
> 
> Written to:  
> Bloodstream - Stateless  
> Become The Beast - Karliene  
> NFWMB - Hozier  
> Bloodsport '15 - Raleigh Ritchie  
> Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby - Cigarettes After Sex

Eddie is alone for seven days. In that time, recovering and healing, Venom can sense the fringes of his emotions, even though he is too weak to access anything not strong enough to penetrate the area in Eddie’s mind where Venom has retreated. They are intense, and they leak into areas of himself they should not. They do not taste good.

 

Despite his appreciation for the woman, Venom feels a flare of anger towards Anne, as she leaves Eddie at his apartment to get into the car with Dan, and the sting of something sharp in Eddie’s chest makes him reel. Did she not see she was _hurting_ Eddie? She needed to stay! His frustration at being stuck in a helpless, recovering state only makes his irritability worse.

 

The random jabs of pain Eddie is feeding him doesn’t help any. Mostly he exudes waves of something heavy, so thick it makes it hard to breathe. Venom seethes at his inability to do something to fix him. Eddie is not performing properly, and he is too weak to mend him. It makes him feel a little too much like a parasite, leeching off Eddie and letting him suffer alone, and that thought makes Venom enraged.

 

But he endures. For three whole days, he is without control, being subjected to Eddie’s pain. Then slowly, bit by bit, Venom feels himself extend. He settles in more corners of Eddie’s mind, finally able to taste the other, more muted emotions Eddie goes through each day.

 

On the fifth day, he thinks he could be recovered enough to make his presence known to Eddie; he does not. He waits until he has something to offer Eddie, until he can fix what is wrong. In those two days, Eddies thoughts come more clearly. He can’t hear the words, but he can get flashes of pictures, wisps of feelings associated.

 

He can sense Eddie’s pain is a pointed dagger in his chest, not unlike the physical trauma he suffered only a week before. It is a curious thing, in that the closer he inspects it, the more he realizes it is not a singular source, but many, many emotions and thoughts intertwined. Sadness. Loneliness. Desire. Rejection. Self loathing. The thickest of these, that all the others seem to be wrapped around, is Loss.

 

The sense of Loss is a bitter thing, souring every other thought and feeling in Eddie’s mind. It tinges his every decision, clouds his view through Eddie’s eyes. It confounds Venom, because while Eddie had a sense of Loss in him when they first met, centered strongly around Anne and some around his job and home, it had never been so potent as this. He does not know why now Eddie should be so focused on it, when nothing in particular had changed with Anne or his job from before, and he seemed to genuinely like Dan.

 

On the seventh day, Venom can stand it no longer. He knows he is not recovered to the point of being able to offer Eddie all he has before, but he cannot continue to feed on nothing but melancholy and solitude.

 

He waits until Eddie is relaxed on his couch, breath coming more steadily to indicate he is moments from sleep, his guard drifting so it is easier for Venom to venture outwards. He pulses, extending himself as far as he can, until he pushes part of himself through Eddie’s chest with a _pop!_

 

Eddie starts hard, body jerking upward and hands flailing outwards. He stares down at the small head protruding from his body, licking his lips while alarm and confusion flashes behind his eyes.

 

Venom feels the grin split his manifested face. **_“_ ** **Hello, Eddie.”**

 

His voice jogs something in Eddie, fully waking him up. Venom can taste disbelief, curiosity, and...hope?

 

“You....I thought you died.” Eddie says, his voice wavering.

 

**“I was injured to the point that it was a possibility.”** Venom admits, tongue flicking. **“I am not yet fully recovered, but I will not die.”**

 

When Venom speaks of how close to dying he was, he feels that spike of pain again, the sense of loss and panic sharp for a flash before they melt back into a tentative relief.

 

Venom cocks his head in consideration. **“You did not want me dead.”** It is a question, but he does not phrase it as one. He can see it in Eddie’s mind.

 

Eddie’s eyes dart away. “No, guess not.” He is holding something back, and Venom does not have the energy to go poking behind the barrier Eddie shoves in front of it.

 

Venom’s eyes narrow in annoyance. **“Why not?”**

 

Eddie’s mind flashes with a startled reaction, his eyes widening a fraction. “Why would I have wanted that?”

 

**“You called me a parasite. You were very angry that I was feasting on your organs.”**

 

Whatever Eddie is truly feeling, he is still keeping it behind that barrier, as though he is protecting it from himself as well as Venom. He barks a small laugh. “Yeah, well, water under the bridge, right?”

 

Venom mulls that response over. **“So we can remain?”**

 

Eddie does not stop to consider, does not hesitate. “Yeah, sure, bud.”

 

It is Venom’s turn to feel shocked. He does not know what brought such easy acceptance to Eddie, but he is grateful. Truthfully he would not have left if Eddie had wanted him to, but he did not currently possess the strength to cling on if Eddie had tried to reject him.

 

There is a pleasantness seeping through Eddie, through himself. Through _them,_ a singular, a “we.” Something that feels right, like the light had suddenly been turned on in a dark room you were struggling to see in.

 

Nevertheless, Venom feels tired. He retreats back into Eddie, head collapsing into a puddle that seeps through Eddie’s skin.

 

Eddie relaxes back into the couch, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips that Venom realizes he had been missing. Eddie needs to be happy, needs to be taken care of properly. His mind is more delicious right now than it has ever been.

 

**_“We are happy.”_**   Venom observes.

 

“Guess so.” Eddie agrees, focusing suddenly on his emotions.

 

Hesitant to dampen them but still feeling the need to root out and fix the consistent undercurrent of _hurt_ and _sad,_ Venom pauses before continuing.

 

**_“We are also in pain. We need to heal.”_ **

 

Eddie’s contentment immediately morphs into concern. “You’re still not better? Are you still….I dunno, do you get sick? Do you need something?”

 

**_“No.”_   **Venom halts, because that is not the truth. **_“Yes. But that is not the source of our pain.”_ **

 

Venom exerts himself, dredging up the flashes of emotions he had been experiencing that week, pushing them to the front of Eddie’s mind.

 

Eddie’s mouth twists downward, and Venom finds it averse to his tastes. “Yeah, well, welcome to the human experience. When we are alone we get sad.”

 

**_“This is more than that.”_** Venom disagrees.

 

“Well, what do you expect?” Eddie bursts, sounding upset that Venom didn’t accept his answer. “I lost everything I cared about in my life, and then we got this badass thing going, and you go and...I thought you killed yourself. And I was alone _again._ Only it was worse, more alone than I was before.” Eddie’s voice is accusatory and thick with that _Loss_ again.

 

Venom feels a sudden, confusing swirl of emotions, almost distinctly _human_ , though he is aware they are his own and not Eddie’s, upon realizing Eddie’s strong loneliness and Loss were directed at _him._

 

He tries to sort through it all, but everything melts away into a distinct _pleased_ feeling before he can.

 

Eddie snorts. “Don’t be too happy with yourself. What else do think is gonna happen when a guy who doesn’t even get his thoughts to himself is suddenly subjected to total silence? People aren’t meant to be alone, it’s just how we are.”

 

Venom’s happiness doesn’t fade. **_“Very well, Eddie. We will not be alone again.”_ **

 

Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up, and so does the wall in front of his emotions; but not before Venom gets a small hint of embarrassment at the forefront of them. He is curious as to why, but he does not have anything left in him to forcefully pry.

 

He waits, gauging Eddie’s improvement. He feels a touch more...comforted, but the undercurrent of sadness still has not dissipated. Venom makes a sound of exasperation.

 

**_“We are not alone and we still hurt. There must be more.”_ **

 

Eddie sighs. “That’s not something you can fix just like that, bud.”

 

Venom does not accept that. **_“We can fix all of Eddie’s pain.”_ **

 

Eddie looks amused and feels deeply appreciative, but he says “You can’t fix it all. You can’t help it if I miss waking up to Anne in the morning, or having a respectable job in the day, or at night, being able to fuc-” he cuts off with a deepened frown, and the self loathing strengthens itself at the core of Eddie’s hurt. “I did it to myself, and now I gotta deal with that. So, uh...sorry if it hurts _us_ ,” he emphasizes the “us” as though to implicate the _you_ in it.

 

Eddie is in pain, damaged, while Venom cannot mend it, and Eddie is apologizing. It does not sit right with Venom.

 

**_“We will fix it.”_** Venom insists.

 

Eddie rolls his eyes, but doesn’t argue. Instead, he changes the subject. “So, ah...you hungry?”

 

If Venom had been manifested, his mouth would have split like a crescent, drool spilling from his lips. **_“Starving.”_ **

 

\--

  



	2. Desire

Eddie doesn’t really know what to think about Venom being back. He’s not the kind of guy who likes to closely examine his emotions until he’s forced to, and he likes them simple. He can accept when his feelings are simple. But right now they’re complicated, twisted, and a little contradictory.

 

He knows he wanted Venom back. He’s unwilling to inspect why exactly that is, but he knows he was lonely before, and now he’s not so much. He knows that having Venom ripped from him in that week, thinking he would never get him back, left a chasm in his mind, where the quietness he had to himself rang in his ears and made looking at Anne with Dan that much harder.

 

It’s a terrible, soul sucking thing to find a intimate companionship and lose it in a sudden blow. Where he might have been fine being on his own if he had never known it, missing it made the loneliness strong and tinged with deep regret. Doing it twice was more than he had been prepared for.

 

And there is no denying what he and Venom have is...intimate. The word makes him cringe with the associations, but there is no other way to look at it. It’s different than it was like with Anne. In all the obvious ways, of course...but Venom is not just always at his side.

 

Venom is _in_ him, and as far as Venom is concerned, he **is** him. He has a front row seat to all Eddie’s thoughts and emotions, to some extent, both the ones he is willing to acknowledge and the ones he is not.

 

It’s not as unpleasant as he would have thought. He didn’t even entertain the idea of _not_ taking him back, after all. There’s something he can’t quite put his finger on (and it might have a little to do with his utter unwillingness to look at his tangled web of feelings on it, maybe,) but there is something that slotted together just right when Venom revealed himself to still be there.

 

Something that completed him, and flooded him with an intense relief. He shouldn’t have been happy, hell he shouldn’t have really been missing Venom at all, being the flesh eating _parasite_ that he was, but he had.

 

And he is going to leave it at that. He doesn’t really need answers. It's fine.

 

Which is why, over the course of the following weeks as Venom grows in strength and recovers, he feels increasing irritation as the symbiote pokes and prods in his head, first manipulating his feelings just like he does his limbs, following the strand of them as though he can unravel them entirely and locate the root. It's unsettling, and feels progressively more invasive.

 

Then Venom starts rifling through his memories. Nothing too bad, but flashes of things he would rather not think of sometimes knock him off kilter and he has to harshly shut off Venom’s access, while the underpowered alien still can’t push through his barriers if he focuses hard enough.

It was the memory of Anne that forces him into confrontation, though. He isn’t ready to see his vision fade away as he pours a glass of water and tilts it back for a sip, flashing him with _bare skin, heavy breathing, his mouth on Anne’s-_ and he comes back to himself when his glass falls to the floor, splashing his bare feet.

 

 _Racing pulse, the heat of bodies pressed together, the smell of her hair -_ Eddie barely holds back the yelp. “No! Nope. Nuh uh, none of that.” He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, as though it can shove the memories away.

 

“Okay, buddy, look….we need to have a discussion about boundaries, and like...privacy and shit.”

 

He heard Venom rumble inside his head, and felt the now familiar sensation of Venom’s black, liquid flesh rising on his skin and surfacing, collecting more solidly into ropes until they string together, forming a vaguely humanoid torso from his own ribs, Venom’s sharp features staring straight back at his own.

 

 **“We must find the answer if we are to heal. We need to find what makes Eddie happy.”** Venom’s deep voice reverberates, and despite his annoyance, Eddie bites back a fond smile.

 

“If there is one thing I learned from Anne, it’s that you can’t be invasive just because you want something. That is detrimental to a relationship.”

 

Despite the reprimand, Venom purrs and a wave of satisfaction emanates so strongly from him that Eddie can feel it.

 

Eddie’s brows draw together. “What? What are you so pleased about?”

 

 **“Relationship?”** Venom questions, teasingly.

 

Eddie huffs a laugh under his breath. “Yeah, we share a body, you think we aren’t friends?”

 

Venom, still happy, repeats the word "friend," like he’s testing the sound of it in his mouth.

 

Eddie continues, prodding for acknowledgement; “And friends respect _boundaries,_ right?”

 

Venom grumbles a little. **“If we cannot see what we want, we cannot get it.”**

 

Eddie flounders for a moment, considering. “You know,” he eventually answers, “you can ask me.”

 

Venom seems a little surprised, like either he did not expect Eddie to suggest it, or he had not even considered it.

 **“Fine.”** Venom concedes. **“We were sad this morning. What were you thinking of when you woke up that made us hurt?”**

 

Eddie takes a moment to think, and debates whether he should be honest. He feels a little embarrassed to admit the extent of certain feelings to Venom, like it would leave a gaping vulnerability in his defenses. Like he would look weaker.

 

Venom probably senses this, because he encourages Eddie. **“We need to fix it, Eddie. I will not judge, we do not need to cause more unpleasant tastes.”**

 

Eddie isn’t entirely sure what that last part means, but he feels reassured enough all the same. He heaves a slow sigh before speaking.

 

“Sometimes….sometimes I roll over and expect her to still be there. When I realize she isn’t, it…” he trails off, realizing he doesn’t need to explain the emotion to Venom, who feels it just like he does, even if he doesn’t understand it entirely.

 

 **“Hmm.”** Venom considers. **“Very well.”**

 

Eddie is too relieved that’s all Venom has to say to really consider what Venom might have taken from what he said. The symbiote recedes back into his body and Eddie moves on without thinking about it again.

 

That is, until the next morning, when he wakes up with a bolt, body snapping to attention at the presence of another beside him in bed.

 

Venom is protruding from his side like before, large arms on either side of his waist. He is, uncomfortably, face to face with a massive black chest, curled inwards towards it, and for all intents and purposes, is being cradled.

 

He licks his lips, and swallows thickly. “Wha-” he bewilderdley voices, trying to wriggle some space between them.

 

Venom laughs at his half-awake shock, deep and gravelly. **“It is what you wanted.”**

 

Eddie has to pause and follow Venom’s logic, back to the conversation from the day before.

 

 **“We are not feeling sad.”** Venom observes, and Eddie inexplicably feels a trill of panic.

 

“No, buddy, no, that’s not what I - I mean, it’s not the same -” He stumbles, color rising to his face against his will, deepening his embarrassment at the situation. Venom is touching him _a lot._

 

 **“You are denying what you feel. It makes you...uncomfortable.”** Venom continues drawing out the things Eddie doesn’t want any attention on.

 

“What are you, my fucking therapist?!” Eddie demands, discomfort making him sound more harsh than he intended.

 

Venom looks displeased as he responds, tongue flicking back and forth. **“We cannot be fixed if you will not allow it.”**

 

Eddie feels frustration mounting. “But this isn’t what I -”

 

 **“Why do you lie to yourself?”** Venom interrupts.

 

Eddie growls and throws his arms in the air. “Fine!. Fine. Do what you want. But it’s obviously what _you_ want, not me.”

 

 **“It is what** **_we_ ** **want.”** Venom contradicts. A note of vulnerability enters his tone, or maybe Eddie can just sense it when Venom then says, **“Do you find me so distasteful, Eddie? Would you rather someone else more suitable fix you?”**

 

Eddie is quick to deny, because he does _not_ like how Venom sounds...or feels...whatever, and the thought of him leaving is intensely worse than anything else could possibly be in that moment. “No. It’s not you, it’s…” He trails off, because deep down he knows what it _is,_ and somehow it is terrifying.

 

Venom knows it is something else. **“I can sense...your displeasure. With yourself.”**

 

Eddie frowns. “No shit. I…” he hesitates, because yeah there is _displeasure_ from himself, but it comes from so many sources that he doesn’t know where to start from.

 

“Look, buddy, there are so many issues with this. Let’s start with the fact that this is not normally what friends do. This is what I did with _Anne._ ”

 

**“But you want it.”**

 

Eddie doesn’t confirm, but he doesn’t need to for Venom to know.

 

 **“You are unhappy that you want it, so you deny it.”** Venom reasons, punctuated by an exasperated growl. **“Humans are ridiculous. You have desires that make you taste bad, and then you taste bad when you get them because you do not wish to desire. Unnecessarily complicated.”**

 

“That’s an unsettling way of phrasing it.” Eddie jokes, amused at Venom’s irritation. He takes the opportunity to try to wedge more space between them, but Venom does not budge, surprisingly solid against him for being virtually made of alien _slime_.

 

 **“You said we could do what we want.”** Venom reminds him, smugly.

 

Eddie knows he did, and feels the embarrassment curl even hotter on his cheeks. He smashes his face in Venom’s chest, the only way he can hide it.

 

“Jesus _fucking_ Christ.”

 

But Venom had not lied. He does not feel sad.


	3. endearments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt bad for taking so long to write another chapter so I banged this out in the middle of the night while half sick, so sorry if it feels off or something. I'm not really thinking straight :p
> 
> written to Forever and Ever More by Nothing But Thieves

Apparently Venom had taken it a step further than holding him in his sleep, which still disconcerts Eddie to even think about. His gentle reminder about rooting around in his head only went so far, especially at his reluctance for Venom to “help,” so he’d gone a bit deeper than Eddie had told him and taken to _hugging_ him. Like, all the time. Because that was apparently something he wanted.

 

 **“You are craving physical contact.”** He informs him, sprouting from Eddie’s side so quickly it makes him startle and drop his pen, coagulating along his skin until he slips off into a more humanoid appearance. His large arms make their way around Eddie’s shoulders and casually drape.

 

“Well, that’s why we have our little….arrangement, where I let you do what you think you need to, or whatever. At _night._ ” He emphasizes, shrugging a bit to see if Venom dislodges. He doesn’t.

 

**“No. You hunger like I hunger; all the time.”**

 

Eddie doesn’t really know what to say to that, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck.

 

Venom hovers over his shoulder, a little closer, looking like he’s hesitating, or maybe considering something. Eddie sighs. “Fine, what is it?”

 

 **“You said I could ask you if I wanted to know something; but this is a symbiosis.** **You can also ask me for what it is you want.”**

 

Eddie closes his eyes and tilts his head back. He thinks to himself a moment, purposefully blocking out Venom.

 

“Alright,” he speaks finally, “Here’s the deal. I’m gonna try to help you help me, okay? Cause at the rate we’re going you’re gonna end up pulling a lot of shit I’m not okay with just because I’m not cooperating.”

 

Venom looks pleased at this, toothy grin spreading to reveal his wagging tongue.

 

“But,” Eddie continues, pointedly staring Venom down, “We are gonna do it on some of my terms. And you’re right, this is gonna have to work both ways. Which means,” he pauses, probably for some level of dramatic effect because it’s just what the reporter in him does, “You’re gonna have to be upfront about what it is _you_ actually want instead of pinning it all on me.”

 

His tone is teasing, so Venom doesn’t feel the need to argue his point. Even if everything he’d done up til now had been because Eddie had wanted it.

 

“So,” Eddie claps his hands together. “For starters, maybe less random touching, yeah?”

 

Venom frowns. **“Unacceptable.”**

 

Eddie groans. “Fuck, what is it that you are so dead set on this?!”

 

**“I can taste your primal feelings. They dance around your head, and the stronger they are the more I taste them. When you are sad, I can taste it. When you are lonely I can taste it. We do not taste good when we are not happy.”**

 

Eddie feels a little gobsmacked. “Wait, back it up, you can _taste_ my feelings? Is that why...oh.” He realizes.

 

Venom grunts. **“Yes. You cannot hide from us. Even when you do not let yourself think about it, it is still there. I cannot avoid it like you can.”**

 

Eddie actually feels a little bad. “Look, man, I’m sorry….That actually sounds pretty shitty. I mean I’m pretty good at shutting shit out and avoiding it….I really didn’t know I was feeding you all that anyway.”

 

Eddie kind of wishes Venom’s face was more expressive, so he could gauge his responses. As it is, he just maintains eye contact, saying nothing.

 

“Look, you know if you….If you need a better host, someone who isn’t so-”

 

 **“No!”** Venom interrupts with a very angry sounding shout. **“There is no better host. Eddie is** **_mine._ ** **”**

 

Eddie isn’t shocked, being the second time the symbiote has claimed ownership of him, but it does something to him all the same. There’s a similar feeling in his chest to when Venom had hugged him before, a some foreign emotion unfurling in his chest.

 

“S’alright,” Eddie mumbles. “Don’t really know what I would do if you left anyway.”

 

Venom makes a rumbling noise in his chest, and if Eddie didn’t know better he would call it a purr.

 

**“Eddie needs us just like we need him.”**

 

Eddie rolls his eyes. Venom was likely never going to stop phrasing things in such awkwardly intimate ways, but Eddie could understand the sentiments at least.

 

“Sure, buddy.”

 

And really, that should be that. If his body sharing alien symbiote happened to be a little extra touchy-feely just so he could eat a little better, then who was he to honestly complain? The situation could really be so much worse.

 

He regrets ever thinking that, because surely it was a jinx.

 

It takes exactly three days before Venom shoves him out of his comfort zone, yet again.

 

It happens while they’re playfully bickering, ignoring the television in the background in favor of arguing over pointless things and laughing at each other.

 

Eddie desperately wants a beer, but Venom hates it so much he forcefully takes control of his arms every time he reaches for one, prompting Eddie to snap at him until it makes him upset.

 

“Fucking parasite.”

 

 **“** **_What?!”_ ** Venom demands; **_“Take it back! Apologize!”_ **

 

Eddie can’t hold back his chuckle at Venom’s sensitivity. “Calm down, bud. It’s just like a….term of endearment.” he placates.

 

 **_“Apologize!”_ **   Venom insists again, and he gives in because he knows Venom won’t stop until he does.

 

“Fine, I’m sorry. But if you want me to consider you as something other than a parasite, you’re gonna have to act like it. Like making compromises.” He waggles the beer bottle in front of them.

 

He can sense Venom’s disgust, but he relents anyway. **“** **_We may consume_ ** **one** **_. Only one. They are disgusting and part of the worst of human culture._ ** **”**

 

Eddie snorts. “How very generous, my benevolent master. Maybe bite back on the insults, I’m going to get my feelings hurt.” he snarks, knocking back a swig.

 

If Venom could roll his eyes, Eddie would be feeling the equivalent. **_“Yes, dear.”_ **

 

Eddie chokes. “Wha-” he wipes at his mouth where his drink had come back out. “What did you just call me?”

 

 **_“It’s a term of endearment.”_ ** Venom responds, mimicking Eddie. **_“Darling.”_ **   He adds, thoroughly enjoying the mixture of baffled surprise with the thin strand of enjoyment that runs through Eddie at being spoken to with a loving nickname.

 

“Where the fuck did you-why-” He stutters.

 

**_“You and Anne had many names for each other; it should not be unusual to you. It is another thing you had missed.”_ **

 

Eddie’s hands raise to press at his temple. “That’s so different. So fucking different.”

 

**_“How? You and Anne held a deep connection. You were friends. She kept you happy. That is my job now.”_ **

 

Eddie’s jaw drops. “Do you think that’s what - Is that what you think this is?” he squeaks.

 

**_“You are the one that referred to us as a relationship.”_ **

 

Eddie laughs, high pitched with distressed disbelief. “A symbiotic one! You know, where you keep me happy, healthy, whatever, so you can stay alive and be fed and shit? Maybe become circumstantial friends because we share a body?”

 

**_“That is never what we wanted. Never what you wanted. It is still not what I want.”_ **

 

Venom rarely expends the energy to allow Eddie to explicitly experience his own emotions or thoughts, but he does so now, sending out a pulse of deep fondness and something deeper, much more inexplicable and...possessive. It was light, it was pure joy and affection, but it was also dark, colored around the edges with jealousy and a wild neediness. It was the true essence of Venom’s own emotions towards Eddie, that had nothing to do with the physical requirements of _host_ and _symbiote_ , and everything to do with _Venom_ and _Eddie._

 

Eddie gasps like the air has been knocked right from his system. He stares at the distance, mind a jumble as he tries to process the complex ball of inorganic feelings he was just injected with, and the depth of them leaves him reeling.

 

“Oh,” he breathes, and it’s like a damn unleashes. His own feelings come leaking out in a rush, matching Venom’s own, greedy fond bit for greedy fond bit.

 

Venom gets flashes in pieces, like the bricks of Eddie’s walls are coming down one by one, each carefully deconstructed as Eddie adjusts to the truth of Venom’s confession.

 

He can see now, how Eddie had hidden from him, in fear that Venom would try to solve his longing by offering him what he wanted un-authentically. He can taste the fear of Eddie taking from Venom what he did not truly express. The desperation for Venom to be closer to him, but also to back the fuck off, because how was he supposed to keep it all hidden if he didn’t? He can see the self hatred too, weaving in between it all, telling him how fucked up he was for what he wanted, shaming himself for moving on from Anne so much.

 

Eddie trembles. It’s too much for him, much of it being not of his own volition, and echoing the strong emotions of the both of them back in a loop; he collapses, the strain of emotional overload sapping the energy from his brain. Venom manifests quickly enough that Eddie sinks into his arms, safe from bashing his head on the corner of the table; not that Venom couldn’t fix it if he had. He would. He always would.

 

 **“Got you, Eddie.”** He says, cradling him close. **“Always.”**

 


End file.
